Children under 15 should not drink any alcohol, says chief medical officer

Children under 15 should not drink any alcohol, the government's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said today.
He said the new advice was based on research which showed the serious damage drink could do to children's health.
Donaldson's advice appeared to contradict the government's current policy on alcohol and children. The DirectGov website says there "is no right age" at which teenagers can be allowed to drink.
Donaldson said the new advice was aimed at clearing up confusion among parents over the issue.
"We have a third of a million 11 to 15 years old on a typical weekend drinking alcohol. That's a massive number and we've got to do something about it," he told GMTV.
"The information we got from surveying parents was that actually they are quite confused about the medical and health implications of children drinking alcohol."
He said research said drink could seriously affect brain development in the young.
"We're trying to get the message across that children aged under 15 are still developing, their brains are developing, and drinking alcohol can do some quite serious damage.
"The government guidelines also advise that children aged 15 to 17 should not drink without the supervision of a parent or carer."
The DirectGov website says that alcohol can cause as many problems as drugs among young people but acknowledges that "it is difficult to know when to let teenagers drink".
"There is no 'right' age, but be there when they do. Once your child has started drinking, help them learn to do it safely."
It advises parents to encourage children to stick to low-strength brands and not to drink too quickly. It cautions against over-reacting if children drink against parents' wishes and suggests providing starchy food "so they won't be drinking on an empty stomach".
Donaldson said research had shown the importance of the family in fostering healthy attitudes to alcohol in children.
"Families which draw clear boundaries, which establish values, which don't bring children into drink-fuelled environments, are families where children are more likely to grow up not drinking at all, or drinking responsibly," he said.
The government said the guidance, which was open to consultation and could be changed, was not about making Britain a nanny state.
It said it wanted to "empower" parents by giving them information to make good decisions concerning their children.
The guidelines will be launched by the children's secretary, Ed Balls, and the health secretary, Alan Johnson, later today.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said he shared the government's concerns about the number of children who drank alcohol.
"I actually feel very strongly about the scale of the problem we've got. The binge-drinking culture, where children go out and get smashed, is very worrying and I think sometimes they get mixed messages from their parents, which is very difficult," he said.
An estimated 630,000 children aged 11 to 17 in the UK drink more than once a week, and around one in five 15-year-olds say they first got drunk when they were 13 or younger, according to government figures.
By the age of 13, just over 20% say they have been drunk at least twice, increasing to almost half of all 15-year-olds.
Figures also show that the amount children drink has risen since 1990. Eleven per cent of boys and 12% of girls aged 15 to 16 have been drunk at least six times in the last month